Ello, I was wondering if any of ya fine folks could ID this…

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LINUXisobsolete@reddit

It's definitely a Nexsan Ataboy2. I found this while using google lens for something and have one next to me - this is identical.

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honeyfixit@reddit

It's an empty case, probably PC, might be a server

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felixthecat59@reddit

It's a RAID server. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It's a technology that combines multiple physical hard drives into a single logical unit.

RAID can improve data performance, reliability, and ease of access. It can also help with data backup and disaster recovery.

How RAID works

RAID writes data across multiple drives in a system.

Different RAID configurations are identified by numbers, such as RAID 0, RAID 1, or RAID 5.

Each RAID type provides different benefits, such as increased performance or fault tolerance.

RAID levels greater than RAID 0 protect against unrecoverable sector read errors and drive failures.

Examples of RAID levels

RAID 0

Also known as striped set or striped volume, this is the simplest and most cost-effective RAID level. However, it doesn't have fault tolerance or redundancy.

RAID 1

This level uses a pair of identical disks to mirror data across the drives. This provides redundancy in case a drive fails.

Other

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AlyssaAlyssum@reddit

Not to be a pain, but because it does make a difference.

This isn't a server, it's a "Disk shelf", that gets physically attached to a host server to provide drive expansion.
They're still pretty common, and any kind of large storage server or systems probably utilise a disk shelf.

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felixthecat59@reddit

I have never heard of a disc shelf, and i have been a network engineer for 24+ years. With the inclusion if an ethernet port, it could be used as aNAS.

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bwyer@reddit

I’m not surprised. Host-attached disks fell out of favor in the early ‘00s with improvements in network speed.

Back in the day, we had enclosures that housed four 5.25” SCSI drives in a tray (typically 1GB). We’d rack-mount them under the host.

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TheAgedProfessor@reddit

It has a RJ45... but if memory serves that was just for management. You'd still need a logic board or CPU to use this as a NAS, which this appears to be lacking. So, no. This would need to be attached to a "server".

Someone will probably correct me, but it almost looks like the host connectors are wide SCSI.

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computix@reddit

A link someone else posted says the RJ-45 is for management. It offers an HTML GUI over HTTP, SNTP, for time sync and SMTP status e-mails.

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Balentius@reddit

Here you go... https://www.istoragenetworks.com/servermanuals/ds2100_ds2110_manual.pdf I actually used 3 of these with some older HPUX servers "back in the day" as it were. Basically, it provides storage and the server it's attached to has to do the RAID. Note the lack of Ethernet... Or anything useful in current technology, since it's at least a decade old. (Ouch, glanced at the manual again, copyright 2004... Yes I'm old.)

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AlyssaAlyssum@reddit

What network!? 🤣🤣 Token Ring!?

Here, have a look at this Netapp site. Basically the Cisco of Enterprise Storage.
https://www.netapp.com/data-storage/disk-shelves-storage-media/.

The Ethernet will be used for basic chassis management. I.e. hardware monitoring for faulty PSU, HBA or maybe even power cycle it.

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Worldking349@reddit (OP)

I know, I couldn’t think of the word when posting lol.

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marcuse11@reddit

I've never seen a hot swap drive tray for IDE drives before. I know the IDE protocol does not support "hot swapping" like sata does. Interesting.

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holysirsalad@reddit

Would not be surprised if there was a button in the UI you had to click before taking a drive out, and another to re-initialize (re-scan?) the port.

Honestly I’m shocked they didn’t use some sort of caddy. Those poor pins

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marcuse11@reddit

Yea, no kidding. There was a cheap tray for IDE drives that used a 5.25 bay and a Centronics 50 pin connector to make it easier, but that didn't sole the bus issue. I remember seeing it at the computer shows.

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ceojp@reddit

Are we sure those are hot-swappable?

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OldschoolSysadmin@reddit

I think those are early SCSI connectors - more pins than IDE.

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Hunter1232012@reddit

Old ass server

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LousyHandle@reddit

It’s a Nexsan SC24

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Stoney3K@reddit

The connectors to "Host" look like ultrawide SCSI. So the "SC24" could stand for a 24-bay SCSI disk shelf.

Those units were often not really that smart compared to modern NAS machines which are complete servers in their own right, instead, they presented as actual disk devices to the attached host.

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Worldking349@reddit (OP)

That would make sense. I know with the other disk shelf’s I have it was essentially just hardware raid then the rest was handled by the computer/server it’s connected to.

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Worldking349@reddit (OP)

Thanks!!

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molniya@reddit

It appears to be a RAID array from Nexsan; my guess is it’s an ATABoy2 or similar. On the right side of the backplane photo, you can see that “NEXSAN TECHNOLOGIES” is silkscreened onto it. I’m not seeing a great source of product information with a bit of googling, but this page shows a very similar-looking array with specs consistent with what we’re seeing. The caddies are a little different, but it’s described as having 14 slots for IDE disks, external SCSI connectors, dual power supplies, a serial port, and an Ethernet management port, all of which are visible in your photos.

The ‘RAID Controller’ component on the back is the guts of it; a clearer picture of that might be a little more informative, but it looks like it says LVD by the SCSI host connectors, so I think you’d need an Ultra-Wide SCSI-3 interface to use it. Configuring a RAID volume would be done via an HTTP interface, and I’d guess you could use the serial port to at least configure the network interface.

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Worldking349@reddit (OP)

Thanks!!! This is quite helpful :)

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EfficiencySharp4788@reddit

Server rack of sorts

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Into0bIivion@reddit

The manufacturer is NexSan.com so the item is less than 25 years old. They probably will still have user manuals in their archive.

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Scoth42@reddit

I can't find that exact model but the board has Nexsan Technologies written on it, which is a storage company. I'd bet it's one of their older models. Might see if there's anything more identifying on there, I don't see an "SC24" as one of their models but I can't see much.

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Curtis@reddit

It’s a raid